An electromagnetic contactor that carries out switching of a current path includes a movable contact driven by an exciting coil and movable plunger of an electromagnet unit. That is, when the exciting coil is in a non-exciting state, the movable plunger is biased by a return spring, creating a released state wherein the movable contact is separated from a pair of fixed contacts disposed to maintain a predetermined interval. By exciting the exciting coil in the released state, the movable plunger is moved against the return spring, and the movable contact contacts with the pair of fixed contacts, creating an engaged state (for example, refer to PTL 1).